Ralph Russo of Associated Press quotes Knight Commission co-chair Nancy Zimpher on the need for change, citing the Transforming the NCAA D-I Model.
Read the full AP article here.
Nancy Zimpher, co-chair of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, said the university presidents who sit on the Board of Governors and other high-rankings bodies have appeared to be content with the status quo when it comes to the role of the NCAA president.
“But I believe that as a collective, these presidents who are our leaders could absolutely ensure that the NCAA president is capable of initiating some substantive change,” said Zimpher, a chancellor emeritus of the State University of New York.
Maybe that will change as a group of college sports leaders works to rewrite the NCAA’s constitution?
The Knight Commission has called for a restructuring of Division I to remove major college football. The NCAA has little to do with the management of the largest revenue-producing sport and no say at all in the College Football Playoff, which generates hundreds of millions annually from broadcast contracts for the wealthiest and most powerful conferences and schools.
Zimpher said having major college football operating under the NCAA umbrella in name only is a stumbling block to more effective oversight of the association. Why would leaders of the most powerful schools want to empower the NCAA and its leader to potentially encroach on the autonomy of their conferences and schools?